


Untitled

by shaking_indigo



Category: Hollow Crown (2012), Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Genre: Blood, M/M, Mpreg, angsty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-30
Updated: 2012-12-30
Packaged: 2017-11-22 23:53:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/615776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shaking_indigo/pseuds/shaking_indigo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a small fic for two lovely people on tumblr!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bearymon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bearymon/gifts), [Highkiller777](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Highkiller777/gifts).



The kingdom celebrates the news for three days straight and the King himself is more than delighted at how the news are taken. With fondness he watches the dancers from his throne, grasping the hand of his consort and lover tight. He had told Eric earlier this morning when the healer had known for sure, and he had found himself wrapped tight in a pair if arms.

¤

Despite now carrying a precious life, Hal refuses to step down from his kingly duties. He travels the lands to see to his people. His kingdom is not in its best state, much to his dismay, but he is determined to help build it up and be a ruler to be proud of. Eric is not happy about him travelling the kingdom while being with child, but never does he leave Hal's side and always rides next to his coach.

At night, after a long day of visiting villages and farms, he likes to be held in his lover's arms, shielding him against the cold that tries to creep into their tent. They lie in silence, enjoying each other's company for the moment.

''Thank you'' the Huntsman whispers into his neck after a few more moments of silence and Hal feels his heart beat faster. The Huntsman was only rarely affectionate in such a way, and even the child was most likely conceived without such, despite anxiously expected with affection, and it made the King enjoy and hold those moments more dear than others.

"I'm sure he'll have your strength and skills" he whispers back and his hand settles on top of the yet small curve of his abdomen.

"He?" Eric prompts and shifts to look his King into the eyes.

"Do you not want a male heir? A strong and kind prince for the kingdom?"  
There is no reaction from Eric and Hal feels panic rising in his throat. Too long moments pass before the other man speaks.

"I do not want a prince" and Hal can feel his heart sink at those words "I want a child that has your kindness and beauty. I want a child that will be loved by the people. I do not care if it is a son or a daughter. You can give me six daughters or six sons, they will be ours, and that I will love and be thankful for."  
Hal cannot do but cry at those words. Of course the kingdom expects a male heir to the throne, and the King feels helpless by not knowing the gender, but his heart aches with affection and longing when he hears those words. He buries his face in his lover's chest and lets himself be swept away by the oncoming emotions, glad to be held through it.

¤

They ride until the winter has crept deep into the land and the King becomes exhausted too easily. It is now clearly visible to eye that he is with child, his round middle stretching the garments, and only his thick cloaks can hide it away. He has been advised to return home, now that winter is upon them, but he will not leave until he has finished his route, which will take another two weeks.

"It'll be fine" he soothes an angry looking Eric. They are stuck after a heavy snowfall from the previous night, delaying their travel for an unforeseen time.

"You need to get back to the castle. With proper healers and care!" Eric insists and paces the tent. Hal watches him from his resting place, rubbing slow circles on his middle where their child is making its presence known.

"It'll be fine. There is still a lot of time left and we have proper healers here" Hal defends himself. The snow would only delay them for a few days, and the healers are assuring him that everything is fine and that he should not worry. Their child has only started kicking a few days ago, which was a good sign and a delight for both parents. But Eric has become more pushing to have them return home.  
There is no responds from the Huntsman as he keeps pacing, making the King sigh in annoyance.

The journey is indeed only delayed by a few days and soon they will reach their last destination. Hal wraps the cloak tighter around himself, still shivering besides the layers of clothing and a blanket. He feels sorry for the men riding on horses in the cold.

The child has been restless the whole day, and the king worries. Never would he forgive himself for harming his innocent child with his stubbornness. He hopes they will make it.

¤

And they do. After months travelling his kingdom, the King sighs as he feels his own, soft bed beneath his body. He stretches out, feeling and smelling the familiarity he has missed in those months. Without a doubt will he be able to get a proper rest tonight.

Everything returns to its normal ways, until the King falls sick. His body burns with fever and he quickly becomes delirious from the heat. All the while clutching his middle, praying all the prayers he knows that the child will not come to harm because of his foolishness.

Eric sits and waits by his King's side, day and night, holding his sweaty hand, telling him that everything is fine. He stays by his side for five days and just as many nights, and at the dawn of the sixth day, he shouts for a healer as the fever drops.

Slowly the King is nursed back to health, but the healers do not know what the fever could have had on the child and the father. Hal is nothing but relieved as he feels the child kick beneath his hand.

¤

They are much more cautious of his steps now, and Hal lets it happen, knowing that it all is just for the child's good. He is now heavy with child and the healers say that any day the child could be born.  
Eric never leaves his side anymore, and even with urgent matters he tries his best to take care of them without leaving the castle. Even weeks after the fever, Hal still feels exhausted and weary and is glad about having his Huntsman by his side.

It's a clear and crisp morning when he feels the first pains of labour and finds his sheets soaked in blood.

¤

It's stinks like a battlefield, the dirty and sick smell of blood hanging in the air, enhanced by the nurses running back and forth with blood soaked linen. Screams of pain and agony ring through the halls and he paces until the sun sets, but the screams do not lessen. The healers say it's because of the fever that the birth is difficult, putting a lot of strain on father and child, and that they cannot guarantee that both will see the dawn.

He does not believe in any god, but Hal does and for his sake he prays for his lover and child. By the dawn of the new day, the screaming subsides and is replaced by a much weaker whimpering of a newborn child. Instinctively he rushes into the chambers to his King's side.

Hal is pale, his chest barely rising, dark rings under his eyes. Their son only whimpers as he's wrapped into clean linen, his cheeks slowly starting to become rosy.

"A prince. Look Hal, like you had wished." He tries to soothe the whimpering infant in his arms, but he feels like crying so much himself, that he cannot calm down their son.

¤

**Epilogue**

"I think I'm able to walk, dear!" Hal makes a weak attempt at struggling against the arms carrying him.

"Anything but stairs" Eric gives back as he steps onto the stairs leading to the gardens.

Hal is the King and a well respected ruler and can certainly walk on his own, but yet again heavy with child he feels a small tingle at the attention his lover gives him. The healers say that he might be expecting twins this time and extra precautions should be taken, which Eric gladly does.

Reaching the gardens, Hal is set down on his feet with the utmost care, a hand lingering on his growing middle as he stands. He smiles and gives his Huntsman a peck on the lips.

"Thank you" he whispers, and together they join their other four children waiting for them.


End file.
